By Ben Snyder

Kill the Minotaur #2 continues to be one of the most surprising books out there. A well worn out tale, this story really has no place being interesting. We all know what happens with the Minotaur and Theseus. But Kill The Minotaur #2 does enough to deviate from the norm, introducing the concept that Theseus is possibly not going to be the hero king we all expect him to and showing it’s sci-fi horror roots, to make the book amazing and one of the best reads this week.

After last issue’s mostly character introduction and exposition issue, I feel as though Kill the Minotaur #2 is a more accurate depiction on where the story is heading. Pasetto and Cantamessa are clearly showing their inspiration and love of classic sci-fi monster horror films in this issue with the distrust amongst the small group of sacrifices and the nature of the ever-shifting maze. It is obvious that few if any of the sacrifices will survive until the end of the maze, but I truly find joy in seeing how they will be picked off one by one. One of the sacrifices gets stuck in the walls and the other gets picked off by the Minotaur himself and both were in gruesome and beautiful fashion.

The other interesting aspect of this story is how much of a pompous entitled frat boy Theseus is. Even his father knows it and it instills a feeling of anxiety with the thought that maybe when Theseus comes back, perhaps Athens will be worse off- if its even possible. But highlighting this feeling of unrest by making Theseus next confrontations with people who want to help him and having Theseus get angry and violent with these two people was a very smart and clever move as well.

Ketner’s art is perfect for the story. The atmosphere of the maze has this eldritch/sci-fi/ primal essence to it. The walls of the maze are littered with veins, stone, and glowing pustules. The toxic water flows against gravity in weird pipelines. But perhaps the best scene in this issue was the last one, when the group finally sees the Minotaur. This character design is wholly original and unlike every other Minotaur depiction I have ever seen. Normally the Minotaur is still glorified, with a bull face and a rippling man torso and legs. The Minotaur in this story is something else entirely, something alien. It looks like the abomination it is. The depiction of the Minotaur even makes me wonder if aliens are actually involved in the story. Having the beast mimic it’s fallen victims to draw out the pack is also a nice touch.

Ketner, Pasetto, and Cantamessa are treating the Minotaur as if it was ripped out from a classic Alien or other sci-fi horror film, he mimics his fallen victims, he crawls on the walls, his eyes are crying blood or another mysterious liquid. The Minotaur is truly nauseating and horrifying and I can’t stress that enough.

The lasting image of the beast is also one of the most hopeful images this book has, because of it’s promise that Kill the Minotaur will be different from all the incarnations of the story before it. Kill the Minotaur#2 is a great issue and is well worth a read.